AN oil industry safety group has cleared Super Puma helicopters to fly agailn,
less than a week after an aircraft crashed off Shetland with the loss of
four lives.

Four Super Puma models, accounting for around 70 per cent of the North Sea fleet, were grounded following last Friday’s accident.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is looking into the incident and has not yet been able to say exactly what happened to the AS332 L2 model that crashed into the sea with 18 people on board.

The black box flight recorder was only recovered by divers on Thursday, and has been sent to the AAIB’s headquarters at Farnborough for analysis.

Unions have also warned of “huge concerns” among thousands of offshore workers over flying on any Super Puma aircraft after five incidents, and 20 deaths, involving two different models of the aircraft in just over four years.

However, despite the concerns, the Helicopter Safety Steering Group, an industry body, recommended that all models should be cleared to fly.

It said a campaign would now be launched to engage with offshore workers to convince them that the aircraft are safe, and said the L2 model that was involved in the crash should not be used for passenger transport to and from oil rigs at present.

The decision means that workers will be asked to fly on the Super Puma EC225, which has been involved in three incidents since 2009, and was only cleared to fly again earlier this month after a ditching off Shetland last October.

The HSSG issued its controversial advice as the UK Government was urged to hold a public inquiry into the safety of helicopter transport in the North Sea.

Les Linklater, of the steering group, said there was no evidence to continue the suspension of the fleet, and helicopter operators had reviewed their own safety managements systems and were satisfied there was "no inherent mechanical problem".

He added that there were currently 16,000 people offshore, including 250 who had spent more than 21 days on platforms and their families were wondering when they were going to get home.

The decision also came after the aircraft’s operator CHC revealed that it had restarted flights by the same model of Super Puma everywhere but the UK on Monday.

The Canadian firm said it had returned the AS332 L2 to service elsewhere as it was apparent there was no “fundamental problem” with the fleet.

A CHC spokesman added: "We remain deeply saddened by last week's tragic accident off the coast of Sumburgh in the UK Our thoughts and prayers are with victims and their loved ones.

“It's too early to know what caused the accident. However, it is common and right to treat accidents in our industry and others, including other forms of transportation, as isolated events unless credible information tells us differently.

“Confident in the airworthiness of AS332L, AS332L1 and EC225 aircraft, on Monday we returned them to normal operations, except in the U.K.”

So far, the AAIB has said only that the Super Puma that crashed last Friday evening was approaching the airport normally until it was around three miles out.

It then suffered a loss of speed, began descending too quickly and landed upright in the water about two miles from the shore. After hitting the water, the aircraft quickly “inverted”, before breaking up on the rocky shoreline.

The AAIB should learn more after analysing the black box recorder, which was recovered by divers six days after the crash.

Meanwhile, Frank Doran, the Labour MP for Aberdeen North, said the incident had caused a “collapse in morale” among 57,000 oil industry workers and merited a major inquiry.

He has written to Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, calling for a comprehensive inquiry, similar to the one held after the Piper Alpha disaster, to help restore confidence in the industry.

He said: "I believe the Government should take note of what has happened, the number of deaths caused, the circumstances in which these events have occurred and the consequences."

The MP added that Lord Cullen's inquiry into Piper Alpha had considered "every aspect of operations offshore" and had brought about new practices that "revolutionised” safety standards.

A Department for Transport spokesman said it had received the letter and would reply in due course.